New FORTRESS America Program Elevates Defense Supply Chain Resilience

News Provided by USA News Group on behalf of Tactical Resources Corp.

DALLAS, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USA News Group News Commentary - On Sept. 30, the Secretary of War established FORTRESS America as a Department of War program built around supply-chain and defense-industrial base resilience, a strategic defense reserve and energy independence. The memorandum does not name a single material or company. It does frame the policy question that rare earth developers and producers have been working inside for months: whether the United States can secure the inputs its military depends on. Companies in that conversation include Tactical Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: TREO), MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP), USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR), Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) and Ramaco Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: METC).

Key Takeaways

• The Department of War memorandum, dated Sept. 30, establishes FORTRESS America as a program organized around five pillars, including supply-chain and defense-industrial base resilience and a strategic defense reserve.
• The memorandum directs the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment to stand up a Program Office within 30 days. It does not name specific materials, companies, funding levels or contracts.
• Tactical Resources reported on Sept. 22 preliminary max extraction rates of up to 96.1% on rare earth feedstock at its Peak Project in Hudspeth County, Texas, using heated hydrochloric acid in agitated-tank testing. The company says the results are scoping-scale and do not establish commercial-scale recovery.
• The company says it owns approximately 1.5 million tons of pre-crushed fines from the Sierra Blanca Quarry, and an exclusive option to acquire 100 percent of Sierra Blanca Quarry, LLC under a purchase and sale agreement through July 31, 2036.
• Around the sector, MP Materials is building a Texas magnet campus, USA Rare Earth has closed its Serra Verde combination, Energy Fuels has qualified terbium oxide with a Japanese magnet maker, and Ramaco has put a $3.2 billion capital estimate on its Brook Mine project.

What the FORTRESS America Memorandum Says

The memorandum describes FORTRESS America as "the nation's insurance policy," a program aligned with the Future Year Defense Program that is meant to secure sustained access to "the critical capabilities, infrastructure, and resources on which it depends." Its five pillars are energy independence; supply-chain and defense-industrial base resilience; a strategic defense reserve; installation hardening and cyber resilience; and resilience in space and spectrum.

The stated goal is "assured access to the materials, energy, industrial capacity, and secure infrastructure on which American military power depends," and the document describes "a homeland that cannot be starved out, shut down, or cut off." The Program Office is to report to the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment and begin as a lean core cell that scales to full operating capability within months.

Investors should read the document for what it is. It is a program-establishment memorandum with a 30-day organizational deadline. It contains no budget, no procurement list and no reference to rare earths or any other named material, so what it will mean for any individual company is not yet defined.

Where the Materials Side of the Question Stands

Companies already operating or building in rare earths show how wide the range of progress is. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) selected Northlake, Texas in February as the site of "10X," a magnet manufacturing campus representing more than $1.25 billion of investment, with annual capacity of approximately 10,000 metric tons of NdFeB magnets and commissioning set for 2028. The company cites a 10-year Pentagon offtake commitment. "10X is about building industrial strength at a scale the United States has not seen in generations, and the exceptional talent and infrastructure in North Texas make it possible," said James Litinsky, founder, chairman and CEO of MP Materials.

USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) completed its combination with Serra Verde Group on Sept. 3, joining Serra Verde's heavy rare earth mining and processing operation in Goias, Brazil with its own downstream metallization and magnet capabilities. On Sept. 9 it broke ground on a rare earth metal and magnet manufacturing facility in Blacksburg, South Carolina. Today the company completed a CEO transition, with President Thras Moraitis succeeding Barbara Humpton. "Our immediate priority is to bring these businesses together, establish clear accountability and execute reliably for customers," said Moraitis.

Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) reported on Aug. 19 that terbium oxide produced at its White Mesa Mill in Utah has been qualified by a major Japanese permanent magnet manufacturer, adding to earlier qualifications of neodymium-praseodymium and dysprosium oxides. In its second quarter results, the company reported working capital of approximately $1 billion and a net loss of $33.6 million, which it attributed to transaction costs and higher operating expenses, while pursuing planned acquisitions to build a mine-to-magnet position.

Ramaco Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: METC) reported on Aug. 4 a capital estimate of $3.2 billion, plus approximately $0.8 billion of contingency, for its Brook Mine rare earths project in Wyoming, with an indicated potential net present value of $8 billion and initial production estimated for 2031. The company said it is in advanced discussions on potential offtake transactions. It ended the quarter with $282.5 million in cash and reported a second quarter net loss of $15.4 million on revenue of $144.8 million. "This deposit contains what we now believe are some of the most valuable critical minerals and rare earths needed to solve the supply chain crisis," said CEO Randall Atkins.

Tactical Resources: Feedstock Already Out of the Ground in West Texas

Tactical Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: TREO) describes itself as a U.S.-focused rare earth elements development company. It began trading on Nasdaq on Aug. 20 and, on Sept. 22, announced plans to advance the Peak Project in Hudspeth County, Texas. The project's feedstock is pre-crushed fines from two decades of quarry operations at the Sierra Blanca Quarry. The company says it owns approximately 1.5 million tons of that material under a 2026 Purchase and Sale Agreement with Sierra Blanca Quarry, LLC, with an initial term through July 31, 2036, and that it has an exclusive option to acquire 100 percent of Sierra Blanca Quarry, LLC.

Preliminary metallurgical testing reported total rare earth elements plus yttrium (TREE+Y) max extraction of 95.6% to 96.1% in heated hydrochloric acid agitated-tank testing. Heated sulfuric acid agitated-tank testing returned 89% to 90%, ambient sulfuric acid bottle-roll testing returned 88% to 93%, and ambient hydrochloric acid bottle-roll testing returned less than 25.3%. The company also reported lithium by-product extraction of 66.2% to 96% depending on method. It says the results are scoping-scale and do not establish commercial-scale recovery.

"Peak is a very special project in this sector because the potential feedstock material is already out of the ground. Two decades of quarry operations produced it, and it is sitting on surface in West Texas. Our technical work has concentrated on whether that material can be processed, and on the heavy rare earth profile it carries, which is where the United States is most exposed. With the Nasdaq listing complete, we are moving the project into its next phase," said Ranjeet Sundher, chief executive officer of Tactical Resources.

The next phase, according to the company, includes finalizing Phase-1 metallurgical work, advancing process development and permitting roadmaps, establishing downstream partnerships and engineering workflows, and expanding exploration and updating technical reports. On Sept. 29, the company named P. Lourcey Sams, a Midland, Texas energy executive and chairman of the Pecos River Commission, as a special advisor effective Sept. 23. Sams serves in an advisory capacity and is not a director or officer. "Texas has the industrial base, the energy and the infrastructure to build a domestic rare earth supply chain," said Sams.

What to Watch Next

For FORTRESS America, the first checkpoint is the 30-day deadline to stand up the Program Office, followed by whatever scope, funding and material priorities the program publishes. For Tactical Resources, the milestones the company itself has set are completing the Phase-1 metallurgical work, advancing process development and permitting, and establishing downstream partnerships. For the sector, USA Rare Earth begins a new chapter under new leadership, MP Materials works toward 2028 commissioning in Northlake, and Ramaco and Energy Fuels continue to build toward integrated production.

Investors should weigh what is not yet settled. The FORTRESS America memorandum does not mention Tactical Resources, rare earths or any specific material, and nothing in it states or implies that the company will be a participant, supplier or beneficiary. Tactical Resources reports scoping-scale test results, not commercial-scale recovery, and it has not announced a downstream partner. It is a development company that listed on Nasdaq in August, and the companies profiled above differ substantially from it in size, stage and capitalization.

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Article Source: FORTRESS America memorandum, Department of War, Sept. 30, 2026; Tactical Resources Corp. releases of Sept. 22 and Sept. 29, 2026.

Contact Information: USA News Group

Media Contact: info@usanewsgroup.com

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Cautionary Note Regarding Government Program and Company Statements. The FORTRESS America memorandum is a Department of War document establishing a program and directing the creation of a Program Office. It does not mention Tactical Resources Corp., rare earth elements or any named company, and it contains no funding, procurement or contracting commitments. Nothing in this article states or implies that Tactical Resources Corp. will be selected for, supply, contract with or benefit from FORTRESS America or any other government program, and the Department of War has not reviewed, approved or endorsed this article. Statements about Tactical Resources Corp.'s Peak Project, feedstock position, metallurgical results and plans are the Company's, drawn from its own releases, and have not been independently verified by us. The Company states that its metallurgical results are preliminary and scoping-scale and do not establish commercial-scale recovery. Investors should review the Company's filings and releases at tacticalresources.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. This article contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements about government programs, project development, process development, permitting, downstream partnerships, production timing and capital estimates. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including market volatility, operational hazards, financing challenges and the inability to realize anticipated benefits. Readers should not place undue reliance on them, and we undertake no obligation to update them except as required by law.

Referenced Companies. References to MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP), USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR), Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) and Ramaco Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: METC) are provided solely as market and sector context. Those companies are not peers, competitors, or financial comparables of Tactical Resources Corp., differ substantially from it in size, stage and capitalization, are not involved in the preparation of this article, and their results are not indicative of Tactical Resources Corp.'s prospects. No partnership, affiliation, or endorsement is implied.

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SOURCE USA News Group